


And I have Claws

by Aulophobia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animal Transformation, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-03-13 14:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13572588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aulophobia/pseuds/Aulophobia
Summary: Harry isn’t sure how he ended up in this situation, but somehow Malfoy, the smirking, blonde git he’s hated for the last 7 years has somehow been transformed into a kitten.  A completely annoying blonde kitten that is clawing at his leg.  He’d only gone to the manor to return the prick's wand, and now this kitten wouldn’t leave him alone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've rated this teen and up for language only. This is nothing but fluff.

When Harry had arrived at the Manor no one had answered the door.  He knew from the papers that Narcissa had left the country after the trials and was living in France.  Lucius hadn’t escaped Azkaban.  The door was slightly ajar, so he had walked inside, calling out.  The whole place felt wrong, as if Voldemort and the Death Eaters had left their taint in the walls and furniture of the grand house.  A crack ripped the air and a house elf appeared in front of him.

               “My master’s is being in the laboratory, he is not wanting to be disturbed”          

               “Well tell him that Harry Potter is here, and that he wants to return something” Harry said sounding decidedly terse.  He wanted this task to be over.

               “No, the master does not want to be disturbed”

Harry sighed, “forget it, I will find the laboratory myself” and huffed off through the house before the house elf could utter another word or try and stop him.  The elf must have assumed Harry wouldn’t be able to find the lab in this maze because it didn’t follow him.  Somehow though, Harry eventually found a part of the Manor that felt a little more lived in, and noises were coming from one of the rooms.  Finally, Harry thought to himself as he stormed through the door to the room Malfoy must be in.  In his haste Harry swung the door rather harder than he’d meant to.  He got one glimpse of a startled looking Malfoy turning towards him, before there was a puff of smoke and Malfoy was gone.  His robes were still there, now in a heap on the floor, and something was squirming in the middle of them.  Harry slowly approached the pile of clothing.  Using his wand, he poked the cloths aside, and sat there, looking up at him with large grey eyes, grey eyes that were all too familiar, was a small, blonde kitten. 

Harry was frozen, unsure what to do.  He was sure that this kitten was Malfoy, but not sure exactly how it happened, whether Malfoy had meant for it to happen, and more importantly, what the hell he was supposed to do now.  The kitten mewed, dragging Harry’s attention back to it. 

               “Okay, kitten” he couldn’t call it Malfoy “what am I supposed to do with you?”

               “Mew” the Malfoy kitten replied.

               “Ah, yes. Lots of help you are.  Well, I guess I should take you back to my place whilst I try and figure this all out.”

               “Mew”

The kitten really wasn’t being very helpful, much like the human Malfoy.  Harry picked the kitten up, and it snuggled into his arms.  It was quite cute really, if he didn’t think about who it really was. Shaking those thoughts from his head quickly he turned from the room, holding the small bundle of fur. 

Making his way back out of the Manor and its grounds, he apparated back to Grimmauld place, where he was staying for the time being.  He’d managed to make a few rooms comfy and was able to avoid most of the house.  He’d turned the dining room and the downstairs bathroom into his bedroom and ensuite, as well as making the kitchen and living room usable.  The rest of the house he ignored.  Now he was home with the kitten he was even more unsure of what to do.  What does one do when their school enemy is suddenly transformed into a small fluffy creature that seems to want to do nothing more that fall asleep on your chest.  He supposed he should take him to St Mungo’s, but Harry felt reluctant.  He didn’t really want to explain that he had gone to the Manor.  His friends, and probably the rest of the wizarding community wouldn’t approve of Harry returning Malfoy’s wand.  It also left Hermione out of the picture, but if whatever had happened to Malfoy didn’t wear off Harry would have to tell someone.  The ministry would be in an uproar if they thought Malfoy had disappeared.

               “Tomorrow” Harry said out loud “if you’re not back to your usual self I’ll have to tell someone.  Until then, I guess I should, find you somewhere to sleep that isn’t on top of me”

Harry got out his wand and transfigured one of the sofa cushions into a small cat bed and took it through to the kitchen.  He then placed the Malfoy kitten into the bed.  The kitten mewled and woke, looking up at Harry disapprovingly.  The kitten got out of the bed and walked towards Harry purposefully.  When it reached him, it lifted its front paws up onto Harrys’ leg and dug its claws in.

               “Ow!” Harry exclaimed “I guess your still a git, even when you’re a kitten.  Look, no.  You’re not coming up.  I made you a bed.  Use it.”

               “Mew” the kitten sounded more aggressive than it had earlier, but removed its claws from Harry shin.

               “No, kitten” Harry realised he sounded ridiculous talking out loud to a kitten, but it was being very irritating. 

               “Meeewww” this time the kitten sounded pleading.

               “Fine” Harry knew he would regret this, but he picked the kitten up.  Just to stop the annoying noise it was now making, he told himself.

               “Okay kitten, what do you want to do?”

The kitten purred at him contentedly, seemingly wanting to do nothing more than curl up on Harry’s chest and fall asleep.  Harry walked back to the living room, carrying the kitten.  He got a book from the shelf and sat on the sofa, making himself comfy.  The warm furry little creature curled up on his lap now he was seated.  Harry was just getting to a good bit in the book when the fire place lit up green, startling him and making him jump up, forgetting the kitten was still curled up asleep. 

               “Meeeoooowww” the kitten wailed, at the rude awakening.

               “What the bloody hell do you have there Harry?” Ron said, appearing out of the fire. “You were supposed to be coming over for breakfast.  Mum’s frantic, thinking something happened to you.  And there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

               “Shit, I forgot” Harry said as he leaned over and picked up the kitten again, stroking it gently until it calmed down and went back to purring.  “Look, I’ve had a bit of a messed up morning, and well, I, kind of ended up with this kitten to look after.  Only for the next day, but well, can you please apologise to your mum, and say I’ll make it up to her.  I can’t really leave the house right now”

               “Fine, but don’t be surprised if next time you miss breakfast you end up with a dozen Howlers screaming at you” Ron winced, clearly remembering something unpleasant. “How did you end up with a kitten anyway, it’s kinda cute I suppose.” Ron reached out to stroke the fuzzy creature.  Rather than purring contently as it was doing with Harry it reached out a paw and dug its claws into Ron’s hands, drawing blood.

“I guess he doesn’t like you much.  Look how I got him is a bit of a long story, I’ll tell you about it later, but I think I need to feed it now.  Can you what you wanted to talk about wait?”

“Fine, I’ll head out” Ron replied looking annoyed, though also seeming wary of the kitten. 

With that Ron grabbed some floo powder from the mantle, throwing a pinch into the fire.  He stepped in and disappeared back to the Burrow.  Harry looked up at the time, it was after midday and he’d missed breakfast, his stomach was rumbling.  Heading towards the kitchen with the kitten still in his arms he thought about lunch. 

               “Would you like something to eat little kitten?”  Harry, was much to his indignation, starting to get a little attached to the fluffball.

               “Mew”

Harry took that as a yes, and putting the kitten on the floor, opened the fridge and looked inside.  There wasn’t much but he managed to find something for himself and kitten to eat.  The Malfoy kitten turned its nose up when presented the tuna Harry had managed to find when it was placed in a bowl on the floor, but cried when Harry tried to take it away.

               “What do you want?  If your hungry you should eat it, if not ignore it, but don’t look at me with that look as if you expect me to read your mind. I don’t know legilemency, and even if I did I don’t think it works on former enemies turned into small blonde kittens.” Harry lectured growing frustrated at his predicament

Eventually Harry resorted to picking up the kitten again and feeding it off his hand.  This, the kitten seemed quite happy with.  When it had finished it started prowling across the kitchen table, and curiously sticking its nose in Harry’s coffee.  It seemed to like that, and started lapping at the liquid.  

               “Stop that, little kitten. I’m not sure coffee is good for you.” The kitten looked crossly at him for a second, then seemingly deciding to forgive him padded back across the table and straight into Harry’s lap, where it promptly fell asleep.

               “Well, I guess I’m not going to get much done today with you constantly attached to me.”

So, Harry returned to reading, repeating the lunchtime process when dinner time came.  He was just enjoying a glass of wine in front of the fire, watching the kitten pounce around after a piece of string he’d found for it to chase, when the fire flashed green again. This time Ginny Weasley made her way into his sitting room. 

               “Ron told me you’ve adopted a kitten”

               “Not so much adopted as fostering.”

Harry wasn’t sure where his relationship with Ginny stood.  They hadn’t really had much time to talk after the war had ended, funerals and grief had taken away the chance.  Right now, Harry wasn’t really sure how much he cared for restarting the relationship that had barely had time to get going before it was over.  The war had changed him.  Whilst pondering this, Harry heard a hissing noise coming from the floor.  The kitten had its hackles up, fur standing on end.  It looked no more threatening than it had when curled up on Harry’s lap, but clearly that was the look it was going for.  Ginny, seemed oblivious to the kitten’s obvious distress at her presence and reached down towards it.  Before her hand got even halfway there the Malfoy kitten pounced.  Clearly Malfoy’s dislike of the Weasleys was still there in his new kitten form. 

               “He didn’t like Ron much either” Harry said as he reached to pick the kitten up.  If a kitten could look possessive, this one did.  It had its claws locked into Harry’s jumper and was changing between purring at him, and hissing at Ginny.

               “Well, why don’t you put it in the _kitchen_ so we can talk.  I’d planned to talk to you after breakfast, but someone decided not to turn up.”

This speech brought forth a more aggressive hiss at Ginny and the kitten tried to leap from Harry’s arms to attack her again. 

               “Shush now, little kitten” Harry said, looking down at the too large grey eyes.

               “Mew” the kitten said sounding cross, clearly wanting Ginny to leave.

               “Look…urrr…Ginny, I think you’d better go.  He doesn’t seem to like you much, and he doesn’t really like it when I’m not paying attention to him.  If I put him in the kitchen, he’d probably just follow me straight back out.”

               “I see where I stand then.  Second to a temporary pet with a personality to match Draco Malfoy’s”

Harry almost snorted at this, but held himself back.  Ginny saw the look of amusement on his face then and turned angrily away, stomping back towards the fire place.

               “Ginny, look ….”

               “No Harry, you clearly don’t want to talk to me.”  Ginny said crossly before stepping into the flames and disappearing.

               “You’ve gotten me in to trouble little fuzzball”

               “Mew” the kitten replied, with what looked like a decidedly satisfied look on its face.

 

When bedtime came, Harry tried again, although he knew it would be in vain, to put the kitten into the bed he’d made in the kitchen.  The kitten mewled so pleadingly that it didn’t take long for Harry to give in and take it to his bed.  It was quite nice falling asleep with the kitten on top of him, stroking its small furry head.

Harry woke up feeling hot, but comfy, his hand stoking something, soft.  He didn’t open his eyes and wasn’t really sure what had awoken him, but something heavy was on top of him.  He continued to stroke and what ever was there was making satisfied noises, as if he was enjoying Harry’s petting.  Noises, Harry realised, that couldn’t be coming from a kitten.  Suddenly he was very awake, and jumped up, throwing a very human Malfoy unceremoniously onto the floor as he did so.

               “What the fuck?”  Malfoy said, sounding just as annoyed as the kitten had the day before when Ginny had appeared. “How the _hell_ did I get here and where the fuck are my clothes!”


	2. Chapter 2

“Shit…uuuuhhhh… They’re at the manor.” Harry stumbled over his words, blushing a deep red looking at the naked man sprawled on his floor.

                “Well then get me something else to wear.” Malfoy still managed to pull off pissed off aristocrat despite his rather undignified position on Harry’s floor.

                “Of course…uhhh…yes…t..t...take this.”  Harry was rummaging through his cupboard and threw a pair of ripped jeans and an old Weasley Christmas jumper across the room to Malfoy, who quickly put them on.  Malfoy was thinner and taller than Harry and the clothes fitted rather poorly.  The jumper that fit Harry nicely was decidedly baggy on Malfoy, and the sleeves didn’t quite reach his wrists.  The trousers were hanging off his hips.

                “Well, I don’t think much of your taste, but then that hasn’t really changed.” Malfoy drawled.  “I’d ask what the hell I was doing here, which I assume is your bedroom, but I’m not sure I’d like any answer you’d give, and don’t really want to listen to you stutter any longer.”

Malfoy turned and walked out of the room.  Harry paused, unsure what to do with himself before getting up the courage to follow.  He caught up with Malfoy as they reached the living room.

                “Wait, let me explain” Harry said, reaching is hand out and grabbing Malfoys wrist to stop him walking further towards the exit. “It’s just… look… I…” and Harry felt the blush rise to his cheeks again.

                “I said I didn’t want to listen to you stumbling over explanations as to how I ended up here.  I just want out as quickly as possible.”

                “It was your potion” Harry said it so quickly that he was unsure that Malfoy had heard him properly.  Before Malfoy could answer, the fire flashed green and Ginny stepped into the room.  She froze seeing the two men stood in front of the fire place, and Harry quickly let go of Malfoy’s wrist.

                “I’ll leave you to deal with the Weaselette.” Malfoy said and taking advantage of his now free hand grabbed some floo powder and disappeared into the flames.

Harry couldn’t move.  He was frozen to the spot in shock at what had just happened.  Ginny seemed to be in the same position.  It wasn’t often he saw her speechless.  The silence built between them until Harry could no longer bear it.

                “Ummm….” Harry started just as Ginny got her voice back.

                “What the fuck was the ferrety, failed, Death Eater doing in your house, and more importantly why was he wearing what appeared to be one of your jumpers?”

                “UUhhh”. Harry’s brain still didn’t seem to be able to communicate with his mouth or limbs properly.

                “God…if I didn’t know better I would assume you had just woken up from a bad one-night stand? Is that why you seem to be avoiding me? Rather play with ex enemies than ex-girlfriends”

At that suggestion Harry got his voice back very quickly. 

                “The kitten” he blurted.

                “What about the bloody devil kitten? God it was Malfoy’s and you were babysitting for him.  What a lovely thing for you to do!” Ginny’s voice was dripping sarcasm. “You’re clearly such good friends now.  Avoiding all of us who’ve treated you like family to spend time with the Death Eater you managed to keep out of Azkaban.”

                “No, I….uuurr” Harry’s mind was racing trying to find something that sounded believable.  He was sure Ginny wouldn’t exactly appreciate the truth with the way the Malfoy kitten had behaved the day before. “I found the kitten yesterday and took it home to look after it.  It turns out it was Malfoy’s and he contacted me and came to get it this morning and I spilt tea all over him, hence he had to get changed into my clothes.” Harry breathed, he knew there were holes that wouldn’t take much picking to make the whole story fall apart, but it was the best he could come up with on the spot. 

                “Oh, okay then” Ginny seemed to buy the tale a little too easily, but Harry wasn’t going to argue.  “Are you going to invite me in properly?” the hint of flirtation in her voice obvious to Harry.  Seeing her look him up and down, he suddenly realised that he was only wearing his pyjama bottoms.

                “I should go get dressed.”  Harry knew he was blushing again.

                “You don’t have to if you don’t want to” Ginny almost purred this to him.

                “No.” Harry said a little quickly. “I need to get dressed and you should go.  There’s somewhere I need to be.” Harry knew he’d said the wrong thing the moment the words had left his mouth.  Not that things had exactly picked up with him and Ginny after the war ended, but the possibility was still there, and he knew everyone expected them to get back together; to get married and have kids.  It was Harry expected, but he still couldn’t seem to bring himself to do it.  Even now, when Ginny was obviously flirting with him, he was telling her to leave rather than flirting back.  In the last 24 hours he seemed to be doing nothing right with Ginny, although at least half of it was Malfoy’s fault.  He saw the anger flicker across her expression before she left without saying a word, and he knew he’d fucked things up royally and wasn’t quite sure how he would fix it.  Whether or not he wanted to be romantically involved with Ginny again in the future, she was his friend, and his best mate’s sister.  Damn Malfoy and that stupid potion. 

                A knocking at the window dragged him out of his self-loathing. Looking up he saw an owl tapping on the glass asking to be let in.  Harry obliged, and the owl dropped a large letter on his lap before flying back out.  The letter had the Hogwarts crest on it and Harry ripped it quickly open, wondering what it could be.  Harry hadn’t really thought much about the future.  He supposed he’d join the Auror corps, knowing they’d let him in despite his lack of NEWTs.  He wasn’t really sure it was what he wanted to do.  Like with Ginny he felt a desire to avoid the expected path.  He’d spent too many years walking along a path someone else had created for him.  Harry wanted to do things his own way for once and the thought of chasing down dark wizards had lost its appeal.  He’d hadn’t even considered going back to school to finish his education, not realising it would be an option.  The letter he now held seemed to be providing just that.  Harry read it several times through, liking the idea of going back to Hogwarts more and more.  The letter stated that there would be a special eighth year for those who had missed out on their last year of education.  Accommodation would be provided for those who wished to stay in the castle.  Those who would prefer, could have their homes connected via the floo network, so they could attend lessons and still live at home.  It was perfect Harry thought.  He didn’t much fancy sharing a dormitory right now, he’d started getting used to his privacy.   This would give him an extra year to figure out what the hell he wanted to do with his life.  He wondered whether all of his year had received a similar letter, he knew Hermione would jump and the chance to go back, and Ron would do it to make her happy, but it was Malfoy his thoughts settled on.  Would he be allowed back.  His education had been just as messed up as the rest of them, and he had been pardoned in the trials thanks to Harry’s own testimony.   Sighing he got up and went upstairs to get showered and dressed.  He knew he had to go talk to Malfoy, and the longer he put it off the harder it would be.  Besides, he still had the git’s wand.  The image of Malfoy sprawled naked on his floor, looking up arrogantly at him flashed through his mind.  No, he shouldn’t think of Malfoy like that.  Ginny was definitely not right about him wanting to spend any time with Malfoy, and certainly not any time with an undressed Malfoy in his bedroom.  Harry had had years of practice at pushing these kinds of thoughts from his mind.  He turned the nob on the shower to cold and the freezing water quickly expelled what he could not think about.

                Apparating to the Manor gates Harry felt a sense of déjà vu.  It was the same as the day before. Walking straight through the gates and up to the large house Harry’s nerves started to kick in.  Why was he doing this again, and after what had happened yesterday?    Sighing he pushed forward.  He felt obliged for some reason to return the wand, and he was also curious about that potion hat had turned Malfoy into a decidedly needy kitten.  He was greeted by the same house elf in the entrance hall.  This time rather than trying to send him away, it directed him to a room near where the potions mishap had happened.  Malfoy was sat in an armchair reading.  His long legs curled up underneath him.  He’d gotten changed out of the clothes Harry had given him that morning, and Harry had to do his best not to stare at the other man. The trousers, shirt and waistcoat, though looking decidedly less comfortable than Harry’s usual attire of jeans and t-shirt certainly looked good on Malfoy.  Harry wasn’t exactly sure why a man would wear a tie whilst lounging in their own house, it wasn’t something he himself would do, but then he wasn’t Malfoy.  Harry watched as Malfoy put down the book and uncurled himself before looking straight up at him.

                “Close your mouth, you look like a goldfish Potter.”

                “Umm….”

                “Ineloquent as ever, Potter.  Why are you here in my house uninvited, and for a second time in as many days if my house elf is to be believed?”

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Harry replied.

                “I came to return this” and Harry held out the wand.

                “So that’s how you got through the Manor wards, they must have recognised my wand. I assumed you’d handed this in to the proper authorities and I’d never see it again.” As Malfoy took the wand from Harry their fingers brushed slightly, sending shivers up Harry’s spine.

                “It was your wand that defeated Voldemort.” Harry saw Malfoy wince and twitch his left arm, where Harry knew the dark mark still lay, although faded. “I know how I felt when I didn’t have my wand, and I thought you should have yours back.”

                “That’s more consideration than I deserve. It also doesn’t really explain how I ended up at, what I presume, was your house with no clothes and about a day’s memory missing.”

                “You were a kitten.” Harry said matter of factly.

                “I was a what?” The arrogance had disappeared from Malfoy’s voice and was replaced with surprise, and a slight intrigue.

                “A kitten, a small blonde kitten. The potion you were working on when I came here yesterday.  I well… well, I think I surprised you when I walked into the lab, and you spilt some, and then you were a kitten, and I took you home because I didn’t know what else to do and I wanted some time to think, and then you wouldn’t leave me alone and you fell asleep on my bed, and obviously the potion wore off and your clothes were still here and…..” Harry finally took a deep breath.

                “Enough with the rambling Potter… so my potion worked, sort of.”

                “What was it supposed to do?”

                “I shouldn’t really be telling you this, but since you seem to have seen the gist of it.  It’s supposed to be a transfiguration aid, in order to make becoming an Animagus easier.  The current process is decidedly arduous and more importantly dangerous, and I thought it would be interesting to see if I could improve on it”

                “Wow, that’s...But you had no memory, and therefore I assume no real control over your Animagus form. That’s not really how it’s supposed to work”

                “My Animagus is not a small blonde kitten” Malfoy huffed.  “The potion is still in working progress.”

                “How do you know it’s not a small blonde kitten?”

                “I guess I don’t.” The intrigue in Malfoy’s voice was becoming more dominant.  Harry thought this was probably the longest, least antagonistic conversation the two of them had ever managed.  Pondering on the potion and its effects Harry suddenly had a thought of how they could test whether a kitten was really Malfoy’s Animagus form, or whether it was just a weird effect of the potion.

                “What’s your Patronus?”

                “I don’t know.  I’ve never been able to produce a corporeal one. Why the change in topic?”

                “Not a change in topic, there’s a good chance that your Animagus form and Patronus are the same.  If you could produce a Patronus then you could see where your potion needs adjusting.”

                “I’ve tried, over and over, it just doesn’t work for me.”  Malfoy looked disappointed.

                “I can produce one.”

                “Everyone knows that, no need to show off.” The antagonism Harry was used to starting to creep back into Malfoy’s voice

                “It’s just…” Harry wasn’t quite sure why he was saying this “I could try the potion.  If I turn into a Stag then…”

                “Of course,” Malfoy exclaimed.  “But you’d really do that?  You’d trust me?”  His eyes widening.

Harry had never seen Malfoy like this.  Excitement was visible in every part of him.  His eyes were light, as if the burden that they had held since the middle of 6th year, that had only gotten worse through the war, had eased slightly at the thought of getting this potion to work.  The excitement was infectious, and Harry found himself being practically dragged down to the potions workshop.  When they arrived, Harry saw the potion was still sat in the cauldron where it had been abandoned the day before. 

                “You sure you want to do this?” Malfoy said, as if realising again what he was asking of Harry, but with a glint of hope in his eyes.

                “What’s the worst that could happen, you spend 24 hours looking after a small irritating black kitten?  If that happens it will make up for what you put me through yesterday.”

                “What I put you through?  I believe it was your oafishry that resulted in this in you having to look after me.  And besides, I’m sure I was adorable as a kitten and not at all irritating.” The insult held none of the callousness that similar words had in their younger days.  If Harry hadn’t known better, he would have thought Malfoy was flirting with him. 

                “You were definitely irritating.  You managed to irritate two of my friends quite significantly in relatively short interactions, I’ll have you know.  You’re dislike for things Weasley seemed to stick around in your smaller, fluffier form.”

                “I hope this does turn you into a kitten” Malfoy pouted. “Are we going to do this or not?”

                “Okay, one question first though.”

                “Sure.”

                “Why this potion? Why an Animagus one?”

                “Well…”Malfoy was looking down at his feet.  “It was my escape plan.  I knew the principals on how you became and Animagus, and knew the amount of effort and risk involved and thought if I could do this, I could escape from him… If I was some kind of animal, he wouldn’t be able to find me.  I didn’t manage to finish it before… well and then I was on house arrest and had little else to do so I continued, and then I was just determined to make it work.” Malfoy looked smaller and younger to Harry as he made this confession.  Harry understood, he knew what it was to live in the same house as someone who ruled with fear and tyranny.  There were many fantasies in his younger days of how he could escape the Dursley’s.  It felt amazing that he had this in common with Malfoy.

                “I guess that makes sense.  And it will be an amazing achievement.” Harry said and paused, taking a deep breath “Okay I’m ready.  Let’s go for it.  Don’t blame me if I scratch the furniture or something.”

                Malfoy had scooped up a small vial and handed it to Harry, fingers brushing again, sending the same shiver handing over the wand had.  Closing his eyes and hoping for the best Harry poured the contents of the vial onto himself.  The puff of purple smoke was the last thing he saw before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided I quite liked this beginning and have started to continue it into a proper story. I have storyboarded where I think it will go but it is by no means written and I'm not sure how long its going to take me to finish each chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry felt groggy and disorientated.  He was lying at the foot of a large four poster bed.  The duvet under him felt like it was covered in silk.  This definitely wasn’t his room, or any room he recognised.  Sitting up he pulled the duvet over himself, he wasn’t wearing anything.  Looking around he tried to locate his glasses so he could get a better idea of his surroundings.

               “You’re awake, and human” Draco Malfoy’s voice came from the direction of the door and the blurry figure moved towards Harry.  “Take these, I’ll get Timus to bring us some breakfast. If you feel anything like I did yesterday, a cup of tea and food will help no end.”

Harry took the glasses and the clothes Malfoy held out. He shoved the glasses onto his face and managed to get the trousers he’d been given on, whilst covering himself with the duvet.  They were the clothes he was wearing yesterday, although there was a hole in the t-shirt he was sure wasn’t there before.  Whilst Harry got dressed, Malfoy called to the house elf, which appeared in the room.

               “English Breakfast or Earl Grey?” Malfoy turned to Harry and asked.

               “Earl Grey, please” Harry replied, and the house elf instantly popped out of the room returning less than five minutes later with a tray ladened with an ornate tea pot, a small pot of honey, lemon slices and steaming buttered muffins. 

               “I’ll be Mother” Malfoy said as he poured the tea into two cups, adding honey and a lemon slice to each before passing one to Harry.  Harry took a sip before reaching for one of the muffins.  They sat on the enormous bed the tray between them.  Malfoy’s were legs crossed whilst Harry remained tangled in the duvet.  They drank their tea and ate in silence.  Only once Harry had put his cup and saucer down did he look back up at Malfoy and gathered the courage to speak.

               “The last thing I remember is you handing me the potion.  What happened?  Did I turn into a stag, or a kitten?”

               “Neither” Malfoy replied. “You turned into a faun, you know…a baby deer.  You kept trying to eat my clothes, and in fact, did manage to eat a couple of nice holes in your own clothes.  I decided that was preferable and a nice distraction from mine, so I let you get on with it”

               “Urrr, thanks…? So, I turned into what… Bambi?”

               “What’s Bambi?” Malfoy looked slightly puzzled.

               “A muggle cartoon...  It doesn’t matter, what matters is what the potion does, which I guess is turn you into baby versions of your Animagus, but without any control over, or memory of what happened?”

               “It seems so” Malfoy shrugged.

               “Does this help you fix it?”

               “I don’t know.” Malfoy looked thoughtful.  “If it was completely off and just turned everyone into kittens that would be one thing, but this is close.  I think I should be able to tweak it so that the person at least gets to keep their memories, but I’m not sure what good that would do.  I don’t think I can make it work like I wanted to.”

               “I don’t know, maybe if you could retain your memories of being a baby animal it could be quite a fun experience.” Harry pondered.

               “But what good would that be?”

               “Well, you could sell it?”

               “And who exactly would buy from me.  No one trusts me.  I don’t even really know why you’re still here at all…”

               “I’m here because this is interesting, more interesting than anything else in my life at the moment.  And for some reason I trust you.  I saw some of the things _He_ made you do and watch during the war, but still you protected me by not identifying me when we were captured here. And your mother protected me in the forest by announcing I was dead. You helped win the war Malfoy, even if most people don’t know or believe it. And I think I know someone who would buy a potion that turned people into baby animals when you perfect it.  They probably wouldn’t buy it from you personally, but I think we could find a way around that.”  Harry was already thinking of them as a team.

               “Do you really mean it?”  Malfoy’s eyes were wide as he stared at Harry.

               “Yes, I do” and for some reason, Harry blushed as he looked back at Malfoy.

               “Okay then, if we’re going to do this there are a couple of things that we should do first.”

               “Like what?” Harry was puzzled.

               “Like this…” and Malfoy took a deep breath and closed his eyes, appearing as if he was trying to compose himself.  “I apologise for being a bigoted, arrogant git for the first 7 years I knew you.”

Harry found himself smiling at the formal way Malfoy was addressing him. 

               “Okay, I accept your apology.  Now can we get to work on this potion.  You never know, we could even manage to be friends at the end of this.  The prophet would go wild.”  Harry laughed and held out his hand for Malfoy to shake, his mind flashing back to the younger Malfoy holding out a hand to him and his rejection of it.  This time there was no rejection and Malfoy took his hand. For a second, they were still.  Harry felt heat rush through him as Malfoy’s cool, slender hand was grasped in his.  He blushed again and let go, not looking up at Malfoy.    

               “Let’s go over ground rules then.” Malfoy stated quickly and got up off the bed. “Mostly, I think that we shouldn’t tell anyone about this.” Harry thought his cheeks looked slightly pinker than usual, but he couldn’t be sure

               “Seconded” Harry replied. “The last thing we want is the press finding out we’re working together, and my friends are likely to be a little, if not extremely, ‘judgey’ about this whole situation.” Harry could see Ron’s face now if he told him that he was working with Malfoy and winced.

               “I also think that we should adjust our wards to allow each other to apparate straight in and out.  That way if there are any unexpected guests we can make a quick getaway, as well as meaning we can come and go without anyone seeing.”

               “Also, a good idea.  Although you might have to help with the ones at Grimmauld place.  I’m not great with wards and they will probably respond better to your Black lineage than my inheritance of the house.”

               “I’m sure I can manage that” Malfoy said with a grin.  “Additionally,  I think I should be the primary test dummy for this potion.”

               “But…” Harry tried to interrupt but Malfoy stopped him.

               “No Potter, until I’ve got it sorted so that we know there is no risk of needing to go to St Mungo’s for accidental magic reversal, I should be the one testing it.  Not least because if I get stuck as a kitten it will be easier for you to explain, than me trying to explain why I turned the saviour into a faun and ending up in Azkaban, after you so kindly managed to keep me out of there.”

               “Fine” Harry replied, but he wasn’t happy.  “I’ll only try it when you think it’s safe, but on two conditions.”

               “What?” Malfoy sounded curious.

               “Firstly, that you seriously consider returning to Hogwarts to complete your NEWTs with me and secondly, that you call me Harry.”

               “I’ll think about the first and I can only agree to the second if you call me Draco.”

               “I’ll agree to that, Draco.” The name felt weird in Harry’s mouth but he was sure he’d get used to it.  “When do you want to start?”  Harry was excited to begin.  This tentative new friendship with Malfoy and the idea of working on the ridiculous baby animal potion made him feel more alive than he had since before he’d walked into the forest to his death.

               “There are some things I need to do by myself before we can try a new batch, getting hold of ingredients and the like.  You being with me might make it a little difficult.  I could fire call you Friday?”

               “Sound good to me.” Although Harry was a little disappointed not to be starting straight away. “I should probably go make amends with the Weasleys you managed to annoy.  God, I hope none of them tried to find me yesterday whilst I was… indisposed.”

               “I’ll see you Friday then… Harry”

               “See you, Draco”

 

Harry left the Manor and as soon as he was passed the wards apparated outside Grimmauld place.  Thinking about Malfoy’s…no, Draco’s suggestion about altering the wards so they could both apparate in and out of each other’s house was appealing, not least because it might mean he could stop having to apparate to and from the doorway of his own house himself.  The wards really weren’t keen on him, and he could feel that the slight resentment from the house, which only seemed to accept him grudgingly because it had to.  Walking through the door he headed straight for the kitchen.  The tea at Draco’s had been great, but it was hot, bitter, black coffee he was after now.  He stopped as he entered the kitchen.  Sat at the table, her face full of anger and drumming her fingers was Hermione.

               “Shit, you startled me.” Harry said, taking a small step back away from Hermione who seemed to be channelling McGonagall after she’d caught Harry breaking some rule. 

               “Where have you been?” Hermione said, closing her eyes as she did so, obviously trying to compose herself.

               “Ummm…Out.” Harry knew it sounded lame, but he wasn’t quite sure what else to say.

               “Ron said you were acting odd the day before yesterday, as did Ginny, something about a kitten.  Then more concerning, Ginny told us that Malfoy was round at yours yesterday morning appearing to be wearing your clothes, and after that you disappear for 24 hours.”

               “Urrr…”

               “Do you have some kind of explanation?  I was just about ready to report you missing.”

               “Not really… I just went out and stayed at a friend’s last night.” He hoped the years of animosity between him and Draco would stop Hermione jumping to the conclusion that Draco’s was the friend’s that he’d been at.

               “And the explanation for Malfoy being here yesterday morning…”

               “It turned out it was his kitten and he came round to collect it.”

               “Malfoy has a kitten? Weird… I can’t picture it.”

               “If it helps it’s a bad tempered kitten that dislikes Ron?” Harry said trying to lighten the mood.  “It took a chunk out of his hand when he tried to pet it.”

               At that Hermione laughed.  “Yes, that does make it a bit more believable.  And I didn’t really come here to talk about Malfoy and his ill-mannered pets, however bizarre that seems.  I wanted to talk about Ginny.  I think she jumped to a weird conclusion seeing Malfoy here yesterday.  You staying out all night last night didn’t help, although how she thinks you were at Malfoy’s is beyond me”

 “I guess I should go see her and apologise.  The kitten was rather time consuming and when she got near it, it really freaked out.” Harry said, trying not to sound sheepish given that Draco’s was exactly where he was.

               “Anti-Weasley kitten then?”

               “Pretty much.  Look, I’ll speak to Ginny later, try and make things okay.” 

Now there was a little less tension Harry moved into the kitchen properly and put the kettle on.  He heaped a few table spoons of coffee into the large café teirre, before pouring the boiling water in and leaving it to brew.

               “Harry, do you want to get back together with Ginny?” Hermione asked seriously.

               “I don’t really know.  I mean, well she’s great and all, but… I don’t know how to explain it…”

               “I think that’s a no.  If you wanted to be with her you should be more sure.  You sound more like you don’t want to let anyone down.  And besides there is the real reason you didn’t come home last night.  Meet someone interesting?”

               “I suppose you’re right.  And yes, they were interesting” Harry smiled to himself, feeling relieved that Hermione, at least, didn’t suspect he was at Malfoy’s.

               “What you did you expect? I nearly always am.”

               “Know it all.” Harry teased, and Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.  “I’ll go and talk to her later.  I’m sure I can find some way of letting her know that I don’t want to be with her like I used to, without hurting her feelings?”

               “I don’t think you can, but you have to do it.  Don’t tell her you were with some girl last night though, that would be cruel.  But you do have to tell her you don’t want a relationship with her.  You’ll both be better off in the long run than if you keep avoiding her.  Or maybe you could just set the kitten on her to scare her off.” 

At that Harry started laughing, seeing the image from two days ago of the small, blonde Malfoy kitten protecting him from Ginny.  It was an amusing picture.  The laughter was contagious, and Hermione joined in, despite not knowing quite why it was so funny. It took them several minutes to calm down.  Harry distracted eventually distracted himself finishing the coffee, pushing down the plunger and pouring two mugs, adding 3 sugars to his and milk to Hermione’s.

               “On an entirely different subject matter,” Hermione started once they were both able to breathe naturally and after taking a mouthful of coffee. “Did you get your Hogwarts letter?”

               “Yes.  I’ve decided to go back.”

               “Me too” Hermione said, as if that wasn’t a given. “Are you going to stay in the castle, or commute from here?”

               “I think I’m going to commute.  I’ve sort of gotten used to having my own space.”

               “I thought you might.  Me and Ron are thinking about getting a place in Hogsmeade for the year.  George wants to open a second Wizard Wheezes there and Ron’s going to run it.  He feels helping George is more important than NEWTs for the moment and I can go to school from there.” Hermione paused.  “He proposed yesterday” 

Harry looked down at Hermione’s finger, noticing for the first time the small, diamond engagement ring.

               “That’s amazing,” Harry hugged Hermione. “I’m so excited for you.”

               “We’re planning on having the Wedding next summer, after school’s finished.”

Harry guessed this was the something Ron had wanted to talk to him about whilst he was preoccupied with the Malfoy kitten and felt bad.  He had two Weasleys he needed to apologise to.

               “I better head back.” Hermione said, seeming a lot happier than when he’d first walked into the kitchen.  “We’re having an engagement party this evening.  You will come, won’t you?”

               “Don’t worry, there are no Malfoy kittens to stop me today.”

Hermione didn’t seem to notice the odd phrasing.  Hugging Harry one last time she left, the crack resonating on the front step as the air moved into the space she had disappeared.

 


End file.
